It was another Pleasant Valley Sunday, here in Status Symbol Land, when I discovered The Truth about He-Man. Yeah, I knew Prince Adam and He-Man were the same person, so that was no big surprise. I was kicking back with Ad Cult USA, the new book by James Twitchell. It really is an amazing work - a definite must read for advertising aficionados and media theorists, and perhaps the best media book I've read since Douglas Rushkoff's Media Virus.

Hidden in the pages of his pro-advertising rant, I found an intriguing little bit of trivia. You see, Filmation Associates, the division of Westinghouse that produced "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe," had an interesting deal worked out with the st ations that aired the show. Prince Adam, Cringer, and She-Ra were delivered to all of us kids at no cost to the stations. Essentially, it was the barter system at work.

From 1972 to 1980, the number of independent television stations tripled. Starved for cheap programming, they needed "filler" shows to air before the profitable time slot of Prime Time started at 8 p.m. A free program of any kind was a big boon to any low -budget operation, especially one popular with the kids that they could sell additional ad time on. The real ad, however, was the show itself. "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" was a brilliant marketing ploy foisted on the kids of America by the co rporation that now runs CBS.

Yeah, so what? I mean, I'm a cynical media student now, always on the watch for weird arrangements ... but I didn't expect it to reach my childhood in any way. I mean, when I see "Mission: Impossible" references on the MTV Movie Awards show, I make the co nnection that Viacom owns both MTV and Paramount, the people behind the new Tom Cruise vehicle. Did you catch "The Phantom" trailer before you picked up your Apple Powerbook and accepted your mission? It's all Viacom, man ... they do tricky stuff like thi s all the time. And I expect it ... even revere it in some sick way.

But somehow He-Man struck a chord deep within me. I didn't even watch the show - and you know I'd admit it if I did. The stooges in the younger grades could run around yelling "By the power of Gray Skull ..." all they wanted. I was way too cool. Any self- respecting fourth grader knew that one could exist on a steady diet of Transformers and G.I. Joe action figures.

The revolutionary Filmation concept was developed more fully later in the 1980s by Lorimar pictures, the subsidiary of the Time-Warner empire that produced "Thundercats." By the time the mid-80s rolled around, Lorimar had cut a deal with the stations that earned them revenue if toy sales went up in their broadcast areas. It was, essentially, an infomercial for the plastic action figures.

But that's cool. I like ads for the sake of ads - ads that entertain enough that you want to go out and buy their product to support their ads. Ads are big news these days - both the old-guard New York Times and the TV-on-newsprint USA Today devote nearly daily coverage to the goings on in the world of advertising. Who cares who wins the Superbowl these days? The advertisers are the real combatants, and the viewers ... well, we're all winners when the Superbowl comes on. How long will it be before bookies in Vegas start putting a point spread on the Coke vs. Pepsi campaigns?

So ... we've been getting these weird press releases lately from all these companies, not about their new products, but about their new ad campaigns. Sheik sent us slides of their new "Groove" campaign featuring (I think) Isaac Hayes. What can I say about this? The slides are nice, but any press info - if there was in fact any to begin with - has long since disappeared. The Sheik "Groove" TV spot is, bar none, the best commercial on television ... you know what I'm talking about if you've seen it. I woul d love to write an article about it, but I'm not sure how much mileage I can get out of my enthusiasm for the smooth creaminess of Isaac Hayes' voice without getting some quotes from somewhere else. All I can do is nod my head and say, "Yes, it is good."

The good public relations people at Barq's Root Beer were far more organized - they sent a comprehensive history of the evolution of the beverage from it's alcohol roots to the Coca-Cola distributed product we have come to know and love. They also sent a video copy of their new "Animation Festival" commercial trilogy.

Talk about the media commenting on itself. Our host for the animation festival, one of those obnoxious critics, sits in the theater and shares his educated opinions about the quality of the cartoons he watches. Unlike the Converse ads, we never get a good look at the animation itself. Which is shame ....

I think the American television-watching public could really get into a series of quality 30-second animations sponsored by Barq's. Instead, we have to look at his irritating face and listen to him decode the mysterious symbolism of the commercials in hyp erspeed. Maybe it hits a little too close to home for me, but I thought it was annoying.

Ads don't have to be like this - and it's only to the disadvantage of the companies paying millions of dollars a year to produce them that they are. Little Caesars knows what's up. Commercials can be stupid or they can be good ... but people are only goin g to reward the companies with the innovative and artistic campaigns.